1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a tray for use by a waiter/waitress to carry food and/or contained beverages from a restaurant kitchen to the table of a customer(s).
2. Description of the Related Art
For many years, waiters/waitresses (hereinafter “waiter”) in restaurants have delivered food from the kitchen to customers seated at a table in one of three ways. First, the waiter carries a plate or the like in each hand and delivers the same to the customers at their table. This method often requires two or more trips from the kitchen to the customers' table. A second method often employed by waiters is to place the plates, saucers, bowls, etc. on a tray and carry the tray to the customers' table. This method requires that a small table or stand be positioned near the customers' table upon which the loaded tray may be placed. A third method is for the waiter to place several plates or the like on his/her hand and arm. This method often results in the waiter dropping one or more of the plates often on a customer.
Prior art attempted solutions to the problems described above are discussed hereinbelow.
A plate rack is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 152,550 which issued on Jun. 30, 1874. The plate rack of the '550 Patent does permit the carrying of a plurality of stacked plates. However, it appears that the plate rack of the '550 Patent will only accommodate plates having identical diameters.
A waiter's tray is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 796,234 which issued on Aug. 1, 1905. The tray of the '234 Patent has limited space for receiving plates, bowls or dishes thereon. Further, the dinnerware must be positioned within the peripheral lips of the shelves 13 and 17.
A serving rack is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 953,007 which issued on Mar. 22, 1910. The ring-shaped shelves or trays of the '007 Patent appear to be designed so as to only support dishes having a certain diameter.
A plate rack is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 1,888,141 which issued on Nov. 15, 1932. Although the plate rack of the '141 Patent may be used to carry a plurality of plates, the shelves or rings 11 appear to be designed to support plates having a certain diameter.
A food receptacle carrier is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,236 which issued on May 8, 1990. Although the carrier of the '236 Patent is designed to carry a plurality of food receptacles thereon, the carrier may only accommodate those receptacles having diameters such that they may be received on the disks 10 and 12 and removed therefrom by way of the closures 27 and 28.
A plate carrier is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 7,520,550 which issued on Apr. 21, 2009. It is believed that the plate carrier of the '550 carrier is difficult to use since the plates 28 are all positioned at one side of the spine 16 which will create a balance problem. Further, it is believed that the plate carrier of the '550 Patent will only carry plates having a particular shape and diameter.
US Published Application No. 2009/0195005 was published on Aug. 6, 2009 and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Pat. No. 7,520,550. Although the '005 application illustrates a plate holder which will hold a variety of plates, the upper jaw of the plate holder must be manually adjusted with respect to the stationary lower jaw to accommodate different plates.